


Spoken Languages Are Not The Only Ones That Matter

by ReleasingmyInsanity



Series: Classic Sesame Street Short Stories [8]
Category: Sesame Street (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Character of Color, Deaf Character, F/M, First Meetings, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-05-02 08:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14540883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingmyInsanity/pseuds/ReleasingmyInsanity
Summary: In a universe where the first words your soulmate says to you are written on your arm, the words don't have to be spoken aloud. (Formerly in my short stories collection fic).





	Spoken Languages Are Not The Only Ones That Matter

Linda had always wondered how she was supposed to recognize her soulmate. Everyone knew that the first thing your soulmate says to you is written on your arm. But how was she supposed to know when someone said her words if she couldn't hear them? Being deaf didn't bother her, she had never been able to hear. But she didn't want to miss out on finding her soulmate. She could read lips, but it wasn't perfect.

 _"Don't worry_." Her parents had assured her when she expressed this concern. " _When you find them, you'll know."_

Sesame Street was nice. Several of the people who lived there already knew some sign and Maria was even fairly fluent.

 _"You'll like it here",_ Maria was signing. " _It's a very pleasant neighborhood, everyone is friendly, there's lots of kids... we do have a few oddballs though."_

Remembering the big yellow bird and the grouch in the trashcan, Linda nodded. " _I noticed that. Luckily, I'm a bit of an oddball myself."_

Maria laughed, " _You'll fit right in then."_ She waved at someone over Linda's shoulder.

Linda turned to look as an attractive young man walked up to them with a smile.

Maria signed an introduction. " _Bob, this is Linda. Linda, this is Bob."_

\---

When Bob was a boy his brothers had loved to tease him about the words on his wrist. They both had sensible things, "Nice to meet you. I'm Jane," and "Is this the right room for geography 101?" Bob's words on the other hand, sounded outright flirty.

"Hey, good lookin' - what ya got cookin'?" His brothers sang at him, Rupert posing and Minneapolis making doe eyes. Then they pointed out that he was awkward and gangly. Bob would never tell them that he was self-conscious about his appearance. His soulmate's words reassured him that he would grow out of his gawkiness.

As he got older, Bob started to feel better about the way he looked. Especially after he moved to Sesame Street. It was practically impossible not to feel good about yourself there. Everyone was so supportive of each other and there was no one he wasn't friends with.

"Have you met Linda yet?" Luis asked one day.

"Is there a new kid in the neighborhood?" Bob asked.

"Nah man, there's a new adult in the neighborhood. She's the new head librarian at our library."

"Oh. I'll have to go say hi. I love making new friends."

Luis clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "I'd noticed. She _is_ cute," he winked.

"Luis!"

Luis laughed. "Just go meet her. Oh, by the way, she's deaf. You know how to sign right?"

"I'm not fluent, but I know a fair bit."

He headed over to the 123 building, where Maria sat next to a woman he didn't recognize. That must be Linda, he thought. Luis was right. She _was_ cute. Maria introduced them and Linda smiled in greeting.

 _"It's nice to meet you_ " Bob signed while he spoke. Then, almost as though his hands had a mind of their own, he found himself signing " _gosh you're pretty."_

Bob could hear Maria laughing, but ignored her, wondering what Linda would say.

\---

Linda felt her face flush. Had he just said...? " _Thank you, you're pretty good-looking yourself,"_ she signed back.

\---

Not realizing the meaning behind those words, Maria continued to laugh. She had never heard Bob so flirty before. Then she realized he was talking to her.

"Maria, did she just say what I think she said?" Bob asked. He looked very flustered and didn't take his eyes off Linda.

"She said you were good-looking." Maria confirmed, puzzled.

"How do you sign soulmate?"

\---

Linda stared at Bob. She hadn't been deaf for so many years without learning how to read people. And the way he was acting made it clear that this was mutual.

_"We're soulmates."_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maria gasp and clap her hands together in joy before signing, _that's how_ to Bob.

Bob was clearly stunned. " _I, you, we're..."_

Linda smiled. " _We are."_

 _"What do we do now?"_ Bob asked. " _This is all new to me."_

Linda couldn't help but laugh. Meeting her soulmate was obviously new to her too. " _Why don't we start by getting to know each other?"_ She suggested.

Bob nodded. " _I'll learn more sign language so we can talk to each other better,"_ he signed. _"Will you help me practice?"_

 _"Yes_." Linda signed back.

Bob smiled and held out his hand. She took it with a shy smile. " _I'm looking forward to it"_

This was going to be great.

**Author's Note:**

> Sesame Street has been brought to you today by the letters P and G and by the number 8.
> 
> In reality to sign "soulmate" you sign "soul" and then fingerspell "mate." I assume that in a soulmate AU there would be just one sign for "soulmate."
> 
> I really like imagining Maria knowing a lot of sign before she ever meets Linda. I feel like when she first arrived on Sesame Street, Linda was prepared to feel rather isolated. I'm pretty sure she attended deaf schools and Gallaudet University for college but when she moved to Sesame Street it was just her. So she was expecting to have to write things down in order to talk to anyone and then there's Maria knowing a ton of ASL and that's why they became friends so quickly.
> 
> The only brother Bob canonically has is Minneapolis, but I couldn't imagine him being a parent and since Bob has a niece (Samara from story #6), there had to be another sibling. I don't know which brother has which mark. Or why I decided that teenage Bob was self-conscious, but teenagers often are.
> 
> Bob and Maria don't appear in Linda's first episode, but Luis interacts with her. There are episodes where Linda teaches Bob some sign language so I figure he knows enough to have a basic conversation but learns more later.


End file.
